Response: TH1RTEEN R3ASONS WHY

Something about this book definitely grabbed hold of me, I honestly couldn't put it down even if I wanted to. I tried very hard not to spill anything because I know many of my peers had said they wanted to read it as well.
*I realized not even five pages in that this book did not follow the typical story of a suicidal teen girl. Once I was introduced to Clay I knew that this storyline was out of the ordinary, but not until about halfway through was I sure that this book was not about a girl who had been teased about her weight or had been raped, but one who had been a witness to many horrible events. This I feel made the story have so much more impact on me. To me Hannah felt like a girl just like me, who had a heart of gold and didn't want to do wrong by anybody, even if it hurt her in the process. Right away I was taken by her stories, how each little instance caused such a horrible affect.
*I was hooked right from the start. Before Hannah's story actually starts, we see Clay going through the motions of what happened after he got the tapes. It is only a few short pages but I knew right then and there that I needed to find out what got Clay to this point.
*The whole "dumb boy" idea quickly faded away from memory. I realized that it was actually Hannah Baker's story with Clay Jensen as her catalyst to let it come to surface for the reader. In ways it helped to explain Hannah as well.
*I honestly can't figure out what made me want to keep turning the pages. At first I wanted to know where Clay came into the tapes. What number was he? What the heck did he do to her if he loved her secretly? Did she know? These are all questions that came into my head as I was reading, much like how Clay had his own questions. I figured after I found out what had happened to put him on the list I would become disinterested, but nope I fooled myself. I then wanted to know who the thirteenth person was. Who was this mystery person that she wanted to take the tapes to hell with as she stated?
*I was definitely able to relate with Clay. I actually had a fellow classmate commit suicide in high school. Nobody knew it was coming, there weren't any signs. We just came in one day and he was gone. There was a text sent around the school the night before but we all thought it was another one of Richard's jokes this can't be real. It all became concrete when I saw my friends faces the next day, somber and pale. I didn't know how to react so I was silent, I tried helping my friends out instead of thinking about myself because the truth was that I had secretly wanted to tell him about the crush I had on him since our eighth grade play but never had the guts. It was a hard situation to deal with. None of us were left with any clues as to why he did it, he left no note. We just have our own imaginations to try and justify why he wanted to leave us so soon. Reading this book helped me to understand that there are many reasons why things like these happen and by relating with Clay it made me feel like I really knew the characters in the book.
*Jay Asher did a phenomenal job in explaining the story and the situations. He let Hannah's life lead the book but had Clay there to justify the events that happened as well as allowing the reader to see the reactions to the stories from a source other than Hannah.
*I don't believe that this book is "great literature" but it sure is an interesting read. It is very simple language and it very easy to understand. They fluidity of the book keeps the reader flipping the pages. It is one that I would definitely recommend to any aspiring teachers. Not only is it interesting but more likely than not one of your students will probably pick it up at some point.